For a guy who has spent the past few seasons being a solid role player on quality teams — Orlando first then the Los Angeles Lakers — it took a while this summer for Matt Barnes to catch on with a team.

And Barnes understands why.

“First and foremost, me being injured last year during the playoffs and not really playing to well had something to do with it…” Barnes told ProBasketballTalk. “Then I had a little arrest situation out here and that probably had something to do with it.”

Let’s take those in order. First, Barnes was battling ankle and neck injuries during the playoffs and that hampered his play. Look at it this way, during the regular season he played nearly 23 minutes a game with a PER of 15.5 (right at the league average); then during the playoffs his minutes dropped to under 17 minutes a game with a PER of 4.2.

He said both his neck and ankle are 100 percent now heading into training camp with the Los Angeles Clippers, who signed him to a one-year deal.

Then there was his arrest in Manhattan Beach (near his California home) which started out being over an outstanding traffic warrant but included a resisting arrest charge. Barnes says he has an Oct. 1 court date, and while he wouldn’t get into details he said his attorney says everything is good and the situation will be quickly resolved.

Those issues were not enough to stop the Clippers from signing him, in part because Chris Paul recruited him. Barnes is pretty happy with where he landed.

“I think they are heading in a great direction, with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin as the leaders…” Barnes said. “They also added lot of playoff experience and veterans in the mix.”

Barnes becomes the latest at a crowded wing spot for the Clippers — Caron Butler probably starts at the three, Jamal Crawford is the sixth man then Grant Hill as well as Barnes are in the mix. Once healthy, Chauncey Billups likely starts at the two guard spot (he doesn’t play point with the Clippers) and Willie Green is behind him.

Minutes are not going to be easy to come by for Barnes.

“Throughout my career I’ve never been handed anything… the cards have been stacked against me since I started so I just look at it as a great opportunity, and if I go in and do what I need to do I’ll land minutes. If not, I’ll be ready to help the team,” Barnes said.

After 10 years in the league, Barnes has learned to adjust to fighting for minutes and coming off the bench in a way a lot of pros with shorter careers never do.

“It’s learning to be professional, whether you come out of HS or spent some years in college, once you land in the NBA for the majority of guys it is a rude awakening,” Barnes said. “At whatever level you played at you were the man and it’s an adjustment. You’re not used to not playing, to sitting. But you have to realized your one of few people in the world blessed to play basketball in this league and you just have to work at it.”

Barnes spent his summer doing MMA workouts, staying in shape — and learning to eat right. Like a pro. At age 32. Because he said suddenly his body wasn’t responding from workouts the way it used to.

“I’ve been one of those guys who just eats what I like, and this is the first year I’ve learned how to eat — the right proteins, vegetables,” Barnes said. “ I work as hard as anyone in the world but I’m a bad eater. But my family has supported my changed and are eating this with me.”

Barnes also was back running his youth basketball camp on the campus of EA Sports. So yes, the campers spend the day working on their basketball skills on the hardwood at the EA Sports campus in Northern California, but when they take breaks they do it in the EA Cafe and EA Arcade — a little slice of video game heaven. Barnes gets in there and competes with the kids on games as well.

But now he’s back home, eating right and getting ready to fight for his minutes with the Clippers. The same fight he’s had for years, it seems. But he always seems to land on his feet.

You probably answered “the Clippers.” Most fans do. So do most NBA referees — And everyone else. Which is why after a recent loss to Golden State, veteran Marreese Speight (a Warrior last season) pointed to the Clippers complaining about the officiating as part of the problem.

He went on to say that the scouting report is you can get in the Clippers’ heads by knocking them around a little. Which seems pretty obvious when you watch teams play them. Shockingly, Clippers coach Doc Rivers disagrees with that. Via NBCLosAngeles.com.

“The officiating thing, I don’t think, is our issue. I will say that,” said Rivers about the technical fouls. “If that were the problem, then, Golden State would be struggling. They’ve been No. 2 the last two years in techs, too. I think we need to point fingers in another direction than that.”

Doc may not like it, but Speights is right.

The Warriors do complain too much, but they also have a ring so more is forgiven. The problem for the Clippers is that reputation for complaining starts with Rivers — he complains as much or more than any coach in the league. Then it filters down through Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

Is it fair that more is forgiven with winning? Moot question. Welcome to America. The Clippers complain a lot and have yet to get past the second round with this core. And at times there standing there complaining to the referees does get in the way of them getting back into defense, and they seem to go in a funk.

The Pelicans are disappointing this season — it is Anthony Davis vs. the world down there. Which is the main reason they are 7-16 this season. While things have gotten better since Jrue Holiday‘s return, Davis is averaging a league-best 31.4 points per game, it then drops off to Holiday at 15.4, and then E'Twaun Moore at 11.1.

When a team struggles, usually that is a bad sign for the coach. Not because it’s always their fault, but because GMs choose not to fire themselves for poor roster construction. Which leads to the question: Alvin Gentry, are you concerned about your job? (Warning, NSFW)

New Orleans’ struggles are not on Gentry, certainly not completely. He’d like a roster that can play uptempo, that has depth. What he got instead was a good point guard, an elite 4/5, a rookie in Buddy Hield that maybe pans out down the line, and then… nada. And the roster Gentry has often is banged up.

If anyone is in trouble, it is GM Dell Demps. Remember, Danny Ferry was hired last summer for the vague role of “special advisor.” Gentry is in his second year, and the issue is the roster he was given. But the Pelicans are a patient organization that values continuity, so… who knows. But the clock is ticking on Davis;, it’s years away, but the Pelicans need to build a team around him and are far from that right now.

Jones told the Beacon Journal he will retire after next season, which will be his 15th in the NBA. His ultimate dream is to ride off after three consecutive championships in Cleveland

“I know playing 15 years is a number where I can look back and I can be like, ‘I accomplished something,’ ” Jones said. “Fourteen vs. 15 may not be much, but to be able to say I played 15 years, that’s enough for me to hang ’em up.”

Jones’ contract expires after the season, so the Cavs will have a say in whether he returns. Safe to say if LeBron wants him back, Jones will be back.

But the Heat got into trouble relying on washed-up veterans around LeBron, wasting valuable roster spots on players who could no longer contribute.

Is that Jones? Not yet. Though he’s out of the rotation, he has still made 11-of-12 open 3-pointers this season. There’s a role for him as spot-up shooter when Cleveland needs one.

Still, the Cavaliers ought to be mindful of Jones’ likely decline over the next year and a half. Plus, it’s not a certainty he holds to his timeline. Cavs veterans have a history of changing their mindon retirement.